Wabash Lilly Award Application and Instructions

Wabash Lilly Award Application & Instructions.

The Wabash College Lilly Awards Program, named to honor the Lilly family of Indiana, was established by the Wabash College Board of Trustees in 1974. Each year, this program recognizes outstanding young men who show high potential for leadership and future promise — men who are likely to have an impact not only on Wabash, but on their community and thus, on our world. The Lilly Award, the College’s most prestigious scholarship, is renewable annually and covers the recipient’s tuition, fees, and on-campus housing and food. We currently estimate the value of a Lilly Award (per student) for the next four years at more than $245,000.

To compete for a Lilly Award, you must meet ONE of the three following criteria:

a GPA of 3.5 (4.0 scale)
rank within the top 10 percent of your senior class
an SAT score of at least 1240 (EBR + M), or an ACT composite of 26

These qualifications determine minimum academic eligibility only. Beyond these, we look at your individual accomplishments and abilities — achievements which may be even more important than your grades or test scores. We carefully consider all outstanding achievements, both academic and extracurricular, and we weigh one significant demonstration of leadership more heavily than casual participation in many activities. Especially impressive, are young men who have shown particular initiative, worked independently or innovatively, or made a vital contribution to their school or community.

Additionally, only first-time freshmen students are eligible to compete for this award.

If you fit our description of a Lilly Award Candidate, you MUST follow these steps:

Submit a complete Wabash or Common Application for Admission
Submit your Lilly Award Application, including an essay, your most significant accomplishments, a letter of recommendation, and a resume. All materials must be received by 11:59 p.m. ET, Sunday, January 5, 2025.
Call the Office of Admissions (800-345-5385) to schedule a virtual or on-campus visit. Your virtual or on-campus visit must be completed by Friday, January 17, 2025.

The above deadlines are absolute. Meeting them is your responsibility.

The Selection Committee will identify finalists on or before January 31, 2025. These students will be contacted and invited to interview on February 23-24 with members of the Selection Committee.

The interview process will begin on Sunday, February 23, 2025 and conclude on Monday, February 24, 2025.

The Selection Committee will notify final recipients of the award by March 3, 2025. Each Lilly Award recipient must accept his award by paying their $400 non-refundable enrollment deposit by May 1, 2025.

Items with an * are required.

Sex*

Wabash College, a college for men in the state of Indiana, while exempted from Subpart C of Title IX regulation with respect to its admissions and recruitment activities, admits male students and gives equal access to its scholarships, programs, and facilities without regard to race, color, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, or physical or other disabilities.

First Name*

Middle Name

Last Name*

Birthdate*

Mailing Address*

Country

Street

City

Region

Postal Code

Email Address*

Mobile Phone Number *

Do we have permission to send you text messages? *

Yes

No

Entry Term * (you must enroll in the 2025-26 school year to participate)

High School *

CEEB

To augment your application, please have an educator, coach, spiritual leader, or Wabash alumnus submit a recommendation on your behalf.

Please use the space below to add recommender to your application. This will automatically generate an email that will request a recommendation on your behalf.

Recommender Email 1

We hope to learn more about your academic and extracurricular achievements, leadership and teamwork experiences. Any skills or experiences you have that set you apart from the average high school senior are also excellent choices to include.

Please use Microsoft Word to create your resume. The desktop app is ideal (rather than the online version). Using Pages, Google Sheets, etc. is strongly discouraged. If you are unable to access MS Word at home, school, or some other location available to you, please let us know.

As part of your application we require you to upload your resume.

List and briefly describe your three or four most significant accomplishments. (Please limit your comments to two to three sentences for each item) *

The mission of Wabash College is to educate young men to think critically, act responsibly, lead effectively, and live humanely. Describe a situation (or situations) where you were required to live out one of the four tenets of the Wabash mission and how that experience made a demonstrable impact on your community. *

Please type your full name below to verify the above information (e.g., Wally W. Wabash) *

Wabash College is a member of the NCAA Division III. Consequently, we cannot consider athletic leadership, ability or participation in the awarding of Wabash scholarships.